Reference ontology patterns

The SAREF reference ontology patterns consist of a combination of an ontological definition and a specification of how to apply it in SAREF extensions and applications. Their aim is to help ensuring a homogeneous structure of the overall SAREF ontology, speed up the development of extensions, and improve semantic interoperability.

ETSI TS 103 548 [i.1] defines the SAREF reference ontology patterns. ETSI TS 103 673 defines how SAREF reference ontology patterns are specified and documented [i.2].

Each self-contained pattern is described by its unique name, a functional description, a graphical diagram, and the RDF source of the pattern. Browse the entire list to make effective use of the patterns during ontology development.

Some patterns are related to the SAREF Core ontology, and are related to the application of classes and properties that frequently appear when developing IoT applications. In other cases, a set of patterns has been defined to provide a general design solution for some cross-domain aspect, such as in SAREF4SYST; in this case a dedicated ontology has been developed to support the application of such patterns.

SAREF defines 14 reference ontology patterns that can be applied to different domains.

SAREF core reference ontology patterns

The following patterns are related to the SAREF core ontology and deal with the application of classes and properties from that ontology that frequently appear when developing IoT applications. The relevant namespaces and ontological definition are those of the SAREF core ontology [1] and defined in Table 1 of ETSI TS 103 548 [i.1]. These patterns should be used in every SAREF extension. In general, the identifiers (i.e. IRI) of the new entities (classes, properties, and individuals) shall be defined following the Term IRI requirements (see ETSI TS 103 673 [i.2]), and shall follow the term documentation requirements (i.e. have at least a label and a comment; see ETSI TS 103 673 [i.2]). SAREF extensions and application should not adopt modelling choices that would otherwise conflict with those listed in the clauses 5.2 to 5.12 of ETSI TS 103 548 [i.1].

• SAREF patterns for features
• SAREF patterns for devices
• SAREF patterns for tasks
• SAREF patterns for commodities
• SAREF patterns for properties
• SAREF patterns for states
• SAREF patterns for functions
• SAREF patterns for commands
• SAREF patterns for services and operations
• SAREF patterns for procedure executions
• SAREF patterns for profiles

SAREF4YST reference ontology patterns

SAREF4SYST is a generic extension to SAREF Core to represent the topology of systems and how they are connected or interact.

SAREF4SYST defines Systems, Connections between systems, and Connection Points at which systems may be connected. These core concepts can be used generically to define the topology of features of interest, which is highly important in many use cases. The SAREF4SYST ontology patterns can be applied to different domains. For example to describe zones inside a building (systems), that share a frontier (connections). Properties of systems are typically state variables (e.g. agent population, temperature), whereas properties of connections are typically flows (e.g. heat flow).

Applications of the SAREF4SYST patterns are subsets of ontologies that define sub-classes and/or sub-properties of the SAREF4SYST classes and properties. SAREF or SAREF extensions should contain applications of the SAREF4SYST.

• SAREF4SYST patterns for systems and sub-systems
• SAREF4SYST patterns for connections between systems
• SAREF4SYST patterns for connection points of systems